Page 36 - The Sixth Form Course 2021

Entry Requirements
GCSE History is usually expected, but may, on occasion, be bypassed.
This A Level would suit candidates who are...
• Lovers of reading and who are interested in investigating aspects of a course
independently
• Inquisitive about how history has evolved both in the recent and more distant
past
• Interested in throwing themselves into debate and discussion
• Concerned to develop their analytical skills
• Curious as to how a whole range of factors including politics, ideology, social
ideas, cultural norms and practices, and religious beliefs have influenced the development of the world that we live in
Course Content and Examinations
The A Level History course consists of two examined modules, each representing 40% of the total marks for the course, which are taken at the end of the Upper Sixth; together with one coursework element representing 20% of the total marks, which is conducted during the two year course, partly in lessons and partly in the students’ own time. The coursework is internally assessed and externally moderated.
Our first examined module follows the story of the British Empire from its peak in the Victorian era through the challenges of the world wars and the empire’s subsequent decline. This is a fascinating period to study in its own right, but one which has much relevance to the Britain in which we live. The first half of the course covers the empire during its zenith as the British expand into Africa. You will discover how individuals shaped the empire, meeting imperialists such as Cecil Rhodes and Joseph Chamberlain. You will also study challenges to British rule in India, South Africa and the Sudan. The second half of the course will chart the British Empire’s expansion through the First World War, the challenges of the Palestine mandate, the empire’s experience in the Second World War followed by the empire’s decline. Through the period you will also consider the relations with indigenous peoples such as the Boers, the Jihadist warriors of the Sudan and the people of India, including those who resisted the empire such as Gandhi or the Mau Mau of Kenya.
History
34
Course Specification A Level ⏐ AQA 7042
Head of Department ⏐ Mr O R O’Brien
Our second examined module sees us study the United States of America in the middle on the Nineteenth Century. This is the depth course, where we follow just thirty years of American History, but gain an intimate insight into the ‘tumultuous adolescence’ of the modern world’s superpower. In studying this you will examine the United States’ attempts to exist ‘half slave and half free’ as the country faces political crises, compromises and violence before the emergence of the Republican party and the election of Abraham Lincoln precipitate the coming of the war. Your second year of the course will commence with tracing the military campaigns of the war; the Battles of Bull Run, Antietam, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg before Sherman’s ‘March to the Sea’. After the war ends, we study the attempts at Reconstruction in America, where you will learn about the missed opportunities that still cause problems in America today.
The final module is the coursework, where you as the student get a chance to spread your wings and follow your intellectual interests. You can investigate almost any topic that you wish, devising your own question and directing your research. This is the closest you will get to university-style work whilst at school and is fantastic preparation for future studies.
Where could this subject take you?
History is regarded very highly by universities as an academically stretching subject that requires students to work independently, read demanding texts and respond to them analytically both in discussion and on the page.
History develops a range of skills that are very broadly applicable in further study and students who have taken History A Level can be found in almost any university course, from the more obvious such as History itself, Archaeology and Anthropology, Classics, or PPE to others such as Medicine and Science courses where the academic rigour of the course remains respected by academics even in different fields as a means by which students develop their ability to think independently and cogently. The transferable skills of a History A Level are also of use in careers from law to literature, or politics to publishing, whilst many an adult’s life-long love of History and interest in the past has been sparked by conversations had in student discussions.